Rating: 
Summary: Good Beginner's Reference
Review: I have two beginning Java books, Joyce Farrel's "Java Programming: 2nd Edition" and "Teach Yourself Java in 21 Days" of the two, this book is the easier to understand. However, it doesn't push the reader to experiment with code and push themselves like the first title I mentioned does.I have experience in other OOP languages and that may be what made this book easy for me to understand. If I try to look at this book as a beginner that has never had any programming experience I think this book would be tricky to understand. I would suggest that anybody that wants to learn any kind of programming get a good book on programming logic and learn how to write pseudo-code and flowchart before they totally imerse themselves in OOP (or procedural programming). This book does cover almost every aspect of Java. The one that I found it lacking in, and the one I need for work, are JDBC basics. Still, I think that before tackling JDBC a person should understand the basics and this book would do a good job of that. I have had two people recommend "Thinking in Java" by Bruce Eckel as the best book for learning Java. I have not read it but it is free for download in PDF format. I think a book like that combined with this one would be the best for anyone that wants to be a Java programmer.
Rating: 
Summary: With so many java books out, this IS THE ONE TO GET!
Review: I purchased about 4 java books before finding
this little gem. This was the first book that
really gave your the feeling your were learning
java instead of just being a technical reference.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who needs
or wants to learn Java in a short period of time.
Excellent book.
Rating: 
Summary: Assembly line "Teach Yourself" book doesn't teach clearly.
Review: I tried learning Java from this book and failed. Perhaps I shouldn't blame the book but rather my lack of previous experience with object-oriented programming. In any case, this book did not cover object-oriented design sufficiently or clearly enough for it to click. If you already have this background, perhaps this book would be of more use, but if you are trying to learn Java and have never taken C++, Pascal, or any other object-oriented language, I would look for another book.
Rating: 
Summary: O.K. book the programmer s that can stop lots of errors!!
Review: I was so frustred by reading this book that I ended up giving it away and buying a book that I could actually understand. Almost all of the examples were chalk full of errors. I could never get them to work. I felt like such an idiot, thinking that it was my fault that they weren't working. I highly recommend a different book for the beginner. Don't be fooled by the well known name of "samsnet"
Rating:
Summary: Average and simple
Review: I've just finished reading this sucker in far less than 21 days. The author didn't organize the structure well enough to maximize each day, but who's gonna read just one chapter a day anyway (Chapter 13 was thrice the length and difficulty of almost all other chapters)? Basically, if you have a good foundation in programming, especially OOP, then you'll have no trouble with this book. The authors do fairly well in explaining the concepts of basic java programming, but trudge along slowly in some sections, while moving too quickly through others. I must admit, however, this book is a good introductory text into Java, as long as you've got a solid foundation in OOP beforehand. If you're looking for anything beyond the basics, however, you won't find too much here (of course what can you expect from a 21 days book). As a desk reference it's fairly useful, if you don't have anything else designated specifically for that purpose already.
Rating:
Summary: Java IS this book!!!
Review: If you give this book anything less than 5 stars then you need to read and/or program more. This book is excellent for new to advanced Java programmers. I have been reviewing all kinds of books for the past three years, mostly programming books, and this book clearly stands out! Don't listen to any of the other reviews or even this review: the proof is in the reading. That's how confident I am about this book. When they say "in 21 days", BOY OH BOY DO THEY EVER MEAN IT!!!
Rating:
Summary: Poorly organized. Pooly executed.
Review: Often I found myself wondering if the authors really understoodwhat they were droning on and on about.
Rating:
Summary: Poorly organized, poorly conceived, full of ERRORS!
Review: Open your eyes! Look past the hype, the advertising and the non-stop promotion schemes. Lemay has managed to turn a mediocre style and extremely thin technical knowlege into a career writing poor quality books that are consistently full of errors. I found more errors in this single book than I've ever found in any other book. When errors are in the code as well as the author's discussion, mere mortals like you and I have little chance of actually learning Java. As far as learning Java in 21 days, it simply cannot be done if you use this book. Beyond errors and other problems, the book fails to cover many key issues. The entire toolkit for graphical interfaces is glossed over and examined so briefly that you can't possibly learn how to create applets that really do something. Definitely look elsewhere for your Java needs
Rating: 
Summary: If you want to learn JAVA don't do it!!!
Review: Teach yourself Java in 21 days, HA HA HA!!!! If you can understand all about OOP in 21 days then you don't need this book, you need something from SunSoft Books or O'Reilly. If you don't know a lot about this stuff, or you have been out of programming for a while then you won't learn this in 21 days. Gustavo Munoz.
Rating:
Summary: Not so bad
Review: The book serves its cause. The only problem is that the chapters are not evenly distributed. And when you want to learn it "by the book", you need 28 days, not 21. See page 2.
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